By Blessing Bature-Akpakpan

The Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq has tasked all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to key into the institutionalization and operationalization of the North East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan (NESDMP), which contain programmes and schemes that promote and facilitate the physical and  socio-economic  development of the North East zone and the estimate of the time and costs for implementing such programmes and schemes.

The minister said this during the North East Development Commission’s (NEDCs) Consultative Meeting with Federal MDAs and Security Agencies on the North East Stabilization and Development Master plan, saying that humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction is a multi-stakeholder undertaking.

According to her, Prior to the establishment of the NEDC, various organizations set up by the Nigerian government were involved in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and provision of humanitarian action to the people of the North east.  “Some of the organizations that were collapsed into the NEDC include: the Presidential Committee on the North-east Initiative (PCNI), and the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).

“Today, we are gathered here for consultation, in compliance with Mr President’s directive to the NEDC Board to constantly liaise with the relevant Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), States and other Developmental Partners for the implementation of all programs and initiatives and proper utilisation of funds released for intervention in the zone,” Farouq said.

She commended the management of the commission for the continuous life changing projects and programmes for our citizens. “I have personally commissioned several projects that have received positive feedback from Governors of North East States”. 

She however said the strategic focus of the Ministry now is the provision of coordinated sustainable humanitarian action centered on the global best principle, the ‘Triple Nexus’ approach, which is anchored in a home-grown National Humanitarian-Development-Peace framework developed through a consultative process aimed at reducing vulnerabilities to support and promote peace and stability in Nigeria.

“The government is also pushing for the principles of localisation through institutional strengthening and capacity building of local stakeholders including affected communities, civil societies, non-governmental organisation and of course national government. This is guided by the National localization framework developed and validated, which is focused on making all humanitarian interventions as local as possible, and called for continue support from all stakeholders.

Also speaking, Chairman, North East Development Commission, Major General Paul Tarfa (retd) said, the creation of North-East Development Commission (NEDC) to address the destructions in the North-East Region caused by the insurgency was one of the best legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He stated that the 2016 Report on the Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) on crisis in the North-East Region produced by the Nigerian Government, World Bank, United Nations and European Union showed that property worth US $9 Billion were destroyed in the region. Up to US $6.7 billion was the estimated cost of recovery and peace-building across the so affected states in the region for four years only.

“It needs little emphasis to mention that the Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Military and other Security Agencies are critical Stakeholders in rebuilding the North East and should partake in planning the development of the Region currently being undertaken by the Commission. During the technical sessions later in the day, I wish to suggest to participants to pay specail attention to the following areas in the proposed Master Plan, he said.”